An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Osun State, Hon Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged Nigerians, especially members of the opposition parties, to embrace constructive criticism rather than making statements that could incite the masses against the government.
Speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, Oyintiloye noted that while it is the right of the opposition parties to act as a watchdog for the government’s policies and programmes, making comments that could destabilise the country was not the best approach.
The former lawmaker cautioned that unchecked negative comments and criticisms by the opposition parties could cause unnecessary distractions for the Federal Government.
According to him, the government needed constructive criticism from the opposition, which could help it concentrate on delivering good governance.
He pointed out that the opposition’s politics of bitterness and hatred would not promote unity in the country but instead cause division and ill feelings among Nigerians.
Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), said that anyone hiding under the umbrella of the opposition to incite the masses against the government through their comments should be treated as an enemy of the country.
The former lawmaker also said that the recent comments by some members of the opposition parties against the president had caused unnecessary uproar.
Oyintiloye, however, said that the government, with all sense of responsibility, should take seriously constructive criticism that would improve the country and make it enviable among the comity of nations.
“Furthermore, the government should imbibe the culture of engaging the critical stakeholders at the policy formation stage to reduce unnecessary criticism of the policy during the implementation,” he said.
